Tie-Breaker Determines RI “March Smartness” Title

03.07.08 (RI State House) – In a dramatic overtime victory, with General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio serving as Question Master, the “Senior Cougars” team from North Providence High School won the 2008 Sovereign Bank Rhode Island LifeSmarts Consumer Competition, claimed the Consumer Cup, and earned the right to represent Rhode Island at the national LifeSmarts competition to be held in Minneapolis, MN from April 12 to April 15, 2008. 

The top three teams include “team name in quotes”:

“Senior Cougars” North Providence High School – State Champions

“Vitamin B12” Barrington High School – Second Place

“XD” Barrington High School – Third Place

The state champion team is comprised of:

Paula Pais, Sovereign Bank Vice President, who volunteered as a Question Master throughout the day said, “I think this was the most exciting LifeSmarts competition yet.  We are very proud of our new state champions as well as all of the high school teams who demonstrated tremendous consumer knowledge throughout the competition.”  Sovereign Bank is the major program partner in Rhode Island.

Robert Leach and Marc Remillard, also of Sovereign Bank joined Pais as volunteer Questions Masters during the early phases of the competition.  General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio volunteered as Question Master for the final and overtime matches, posing consumer questions to teen competitors involving personal finance, health & safely, technology, environment, and consumer rights and responsibilities. 

The General Treasurer said, “It was my pleasure to share in this important consumer education competition again this year.  Our high school students are facing consumer decisions on a daily basis that can have a major impact on their lives, not just as they make purchasing decisions, but as they begin to utilize credit and establish responsible budgeting behaviors that hopefully will last a lifetime.”  Caprio has been involved in every Rhode Island LifeSmarts competition since its inception in 2005.

The 2008 Sovereign Bank Rhode Island LifeSmarts Competition nicknamed “March Smartness,” saw eleven teams (four – five students per team) of high school students compete for the title.  Six high schools and one youth organization competed including:

Barrington High School

Burrillville High School

Coventry High School

Cranston Area Career & Technical Center (Cranston West High School)

Lincoln School

North Providence High School

Rhode Island National Guard Youth Program

Prior to the final matches, Secretary of State, A. Ralph Mollis and General Treasurer, Frank T. Caprio spoke to all students about the importance of being savvy consumers.  The Secretary of State told the students, “You are already a major part of the United States’ economy.  Across our country, teens spent over $175 billion in 2007 alone.  My hope is that you will take the lessons learned today and become increasingly smart spenders and avid savers.”

Jim Hedemark, Executive Director of the Rhode Island JumpStart Coalition and Rhode Island LifeSmarts Coordinator speaks to the new competition venue, “Being at the State House has brought this competition to another level of importance.  We are extremely grateful to Governor Carieri and Speaker Murphy, whose staff worked to help make this year’s competition very special for everyone involved.”

In order to qualify for the state competition, teenage players completed a sixty-question quiz during the online portion of the competition involving the five consumer areas detailed above.  The top teams are invited to the state competition.

At the state competition, over twenty volunteer officials from academic, business, and civic sectors dedicated a full day of their time, serving in various officials’ roles.

The competition is made possible through the funding support of major supporter Sovereign Bank and the support of Verizon, Verizon TelecomPioneers, Herff-Jones Company, Inc, and the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals. 

LifeSmarts: the ultimate consumer challenge is a national program of the National Consumers League (NCL).  The national program website is:  www.lifesmarts.org

The program is coordinated in Rhode Island by the Rhode Island JumpStart Coalition, www.rijumpstart.org.